Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Reunion at the Shrine
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"Lord Herteias."
"I told you, it's Heltein."
"Uh… what would you have me do?"
"I already told you. I'm Heltein, the simple country boy. A human who's lived with only his elderly mother since the rest of humanity went extinct! Clueless about the world, fascinated by everything, bright and cheerful, but an absolute prodigy when it comes to magic! And no formal speech!"
"...Got it."
Do-jae scratched his head and replied in a dumbfounded voice.
With bright, sparkling eyes, Herteias walked confidently, seemingly completely immersed in his game.
Meanwhile, Harkes, trailing a short distance behind, remained vigilant and tense.
"Hey, giant mister! Come closer!"
"Yes… uh! I mean, okay!"
Harkes, who had reflexively used formal speech, quickly switched to casual talk when Herteias's gaze sharpened, and he scurried over.
It was pathetic to see how such a strong and robust Titan warrior could be so broken.
"Human! What's your name?"
"Kuhtan."
"No, your real name. That's a name made from the elven language."
"...Do-jae. Lee Do-jae."
After a moment's hesitation, Do-jae revealed his name.
Now that they knew he was human, there was no need to pretend to be a High Elf.
"Lee Do-jae? That's a pretty strange name too."
"Because I'm not from around here."
"Oh? You're from across the sea? I wonder if the rumors were true, then. That there are still humans left over there."
"There are rumors like that?"
Do-jae listened intently to Herteias's words.
He had been told that all humans here had gone extinct.
At first, he thought the continent of Tranpeion was the only one on this planet, so he assumed the human race didn't exist here at all.
But the map Harkes had shown him depicted a nameless continent beyond the great sea. He had been curious, but unfortunately, Harkes didn't know anything about it either.
"Well, they say a dragon from over there once came to Tranpeion. I think?"
"And?"
"That's all I know."
Herteias was playing dumb.
He definitely knew more.
Despite knowing, he was pretending not to, in order to stay in his 'Heltein' persona.
"Come on, you said Heltein has read many books left by the ancient archmage. Wasn't there anything about it in there? I bet a smart guy like Heltein would have been curious and looked into it. We're both human, after all. I'd think Heltein would have checked it out."
"Hmm..."
Herteias shot Do-jae a sidelong glance.
Do-jae, in turn, put on an innocent face and looked back at him.
As if to make him regret polymorphing into a human.
"Tsk! I remember now."
"Oh? What is it?"
"My... an.ces.tor wrote that he met that dragon. He said it had a very peculiar appearance. No wings and a long body, was it? Anyway, he said the dragon died not long after it arrived."
"It died?"
"Yep. The sea outside Tranpeion is said to be very rough, with a powerful mana field. It supposedly died from exhaustion while crossing it."
"Then have you... I mean, have the dragons ever thought of going to the outside world?"
"Why are you asking me that?"
Herteias said with a coy expression.
The mood suggested he wouldn't say any more.
Still, Herteias had explained things well.
Somehow, he had managed to do it from Heltein's perspective.
In any case, the fact that he assumed Do-jae was a human from across the continent told Do-jae that Herteias, at least, had never been there himself.
Besides, given the nature of dragons, they would never even think of risking their lives to leave.
And the same applied to Do-jae.
"But seeing as you're asking these things, you must not be a human from the outside, are you?"
"That's right."
"Really? Where are you from?"
"A place even farther than the outside? Hmm... I guess there's no reason to hide it..."
Do-jae told him about himself.
About Earth, Hunters, and that Briareus was there.
"What? That guy really traveled between dimensions?"
"Huh? I thought Heltein didn't know Briareus."
"Ah! Ahem... that's not it... I was just amazed! Even the books didn't mention dimensional travel."
Herteias was trying so hard to live as Heltein.
His effort was commendable, so Do-jae decided to let it slide.
"It's done! Everyone, get up here."
Herteias, having drawn a magic circle outside the lair, called to Do-jae and Harkes.
Briareus could use teleportation just fine in human form, but Herteias insisted on drawing a magic circle to travel.
"Alright, we're moving! Close your eyes tight!"
At Herteias's words, Harkes squeezed his eyes shut.
Do-jae chuckled.
Fwoosh-!
***
"Hamar, watch out!"
Fwip-!
Sari swiftly drew her bow and planted an arrow in the monster's torso.
"Thank you, Chieftain!"
Hamar, unfazed by the near-death experience, threw himself at another group of monsters.
And he wasn't the only one.
The eighteen Gray Elves with them were each engaged in combat with monsters.
"Guhk..."
One of the Gray Elves was crushed to death under a monster's giant foot.
Sari witnessed it with her own eyes, but she couldn't afford to just grieve.
Her group, which had started with over thirty, had already lost more than half its members.
Twang-.
Sari bit her lip and drew her bowstring once more.
Thwang-!
Thud-!
Sari's arrow embedded itself in the eye of the monster that had just killed the Gray Elf.
The beast writhed in pain, and two Gray Elves seized the opportunity, leaping forward to plunge their swords into it.
"No!"
But the two Gray Elves who had stabbed it were electrocuted by a current that flowed through their blades, their bodies paralyzed.
Unable to move, they twitched helplessly before being crushed just as their comrade had been.
"Karan... Serkan..."
Sari fought back tears, shooting arrows until her fingers bled.
Even after watching two of her childhood friends die so brutally, all she could do was shoot until her quiver was empty.
"We're almost there..."
The lone shrine standing in the rugged plains was just ahead.
An hour?
Thirty minutes?
Just a little farther and they could have taken refuge inside the shrine, but they couldn't endure that short amount of time as the Gray Elves continued to fall.
"Grrrroooowl!"
A giant, hairy monster charged toward Sari.
The other Gray Elves were busy fighting their own monsters and couldn't help.
Sari frantically shot arrows with her torn hands, but the agile beast dodged every single one as it rushed forward.
"Chieftain!"
Hamar noticed and shouted to Sari.
But he, too, was facing a monster and couldn't come to her aid.
Sari reached into her quiver again.
But no matter how she fumbled, her hand came up empty.
The monster was already upon her.
Just as she thought this was the end for her too.
Whoosh-!
Thunk-!
An axe, flying from somewhere, struck the monster right between the eyes.
"Gurgle..."
With a final gurgle, the hairy monster's eyes rolled back, and it collapsed.
Sari gasped for breath, her startled eyes scanning the surroundings.
"Hah... hah... Oson?"
The axe had looked familiar.
Sure enough, a dwarf with a neatly braided beard was running toward her.
"Sarieta! Are you alright!"
Oson, while worrying about the stunned Sari, pulled his double-bladed axe from the hairy monster's head and brandished it.
"How...?"
"Hold on!"
Whack-!
Slice-!
Before they could even exchange happy greetings after their long-awaited reunion, Oson swung his axe again and charged into the fray.
"Ah..."
Sari covered her mouth, overcome with gratitude.
The dwarves who had come with Oson were now cutting through the monsters, fighting in place of the exhausted Gray Elves.
***
A short while later.
Having slain all the monsters, the dwarves lowered their weapons.
The one who had fought most valiantly, slaying the most monsters, was undoubtedly Oson Ironhammer.
He wiped the blood from his Wyvern Bone Double Axe and walked over to Sari.
"What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that. How did you get all the way out here, Oson?"
Sari and Oson shared their stories.
Oson's group had repelled the monster attack with relatively few losses, but Sari had lost her entire village.
Hearing this, Oson's nose turned red, and he even sniffled.
"You've suffered. It must have been hard for a young lady to bear..."
"Oson... I'm more than 200 years older than you, you know?"
"Hmph, young is young!"
"Thank you... I'm so glad I was able to meet you, Oson."
Sari's slender, small hand enveloped Oson's thick, rough one.
Through her cold, trembling hand, her sorrow flowed into him.
"Won't you join us?"
"Your people... dwarves hate elves. How could I do that?"
Sari gestured toward the two groups, which had separated, dwarves with dwarves and Gray Elves with Gray Elves.
This time, Oson squeezed Sari's hand in return.
"It's fine. We eastern dwarves don't hold the same grudges against elves as the others. If you're okay with it, I'd like for us to travel together."
"Really?"
"It would be reassuring for us, too, to have the skilled hunters of the Gray Elves with us!"
Oson's mustache twitched as he smiled.
Knowing it was a forced smile, Sari let out a small laugh.
"Pfft... I guess you're not completely without prejudice."
"It can't be helped. We're dwarves and elves, after all."
"Thank you for being the first to say it, Oson. We're grateful to the dwarves for their help. So please, don't worry too much about it."
"Oho! Does that mean you'll join us!"
"We'll be in your care."
Sari and Oson shook their clasped hands.
The two of them had taken the first step toward uniting two races that were difficult to reconcile.
"But what brings the Gray Elves all the way out here? There should be plenty of other elves in the west."
"The elven kingdoms we've seen were either destroyed by monsters or on the verge of collapse. It was impossible to hope for their help. In the end, our village had to fend for itself. The only place we could find any hope was where Lady Elatra resides. So we came all this way."
"It couldn't have been easy. Still, I'm glad you made it this far alive. Let's rest inside the shrine for today."
Oson pointed to the shrine that rose up alone from the landscape.
Perhaps due to Elatra's influence, no monsters approached the shrine, and there were no signs of them ever living nearby.
"Yes. I really need to rest."
Sari pushed her weary body up and went to her Gray Elves.
Oson also went to his dwarves to relay the conversation he'd had with Sari.
Fortunately, both sides agreed to follow Sari and Oson's wishes and join forces.
Though awkward, the two groups merged into one, with the Gray Elves expressing their gratitude.
"Chieftain of the Gray Elf village. I am Oson's father, Puson Ironhammer. A pleasure to meet you."
"We survived thanks to you. We are truly grateful that the dwarves have agreed to join us."
"With the continent in such chaos, we must help each other when we can, no?"
"Yes. For now, shall we head to the shrine? Our side has suffered heavy losses and needs to rest."
Puson nodded, and Sari began to walk slowly toward the shrine.
But just then.
A bright light flashed right in front of the shrine, and something appeared.
Shing-!
Clang-!
The dwarves and Gray Elves swiftly drew their weapons, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
But Sari and Oson dropped their bow and axe to the ground and, without a second glance, began running toward the figures.
"Do-jae!"
"Master!"